Two platforms, two answers
Polymarket US runs on QCX LLC, which the CFTC lists as a designated contract market since July 9, 2025, and clears through its own clearinghouse. In November 2025 the CFTC amended its designation to allow access through brokers. This is the app Americans can legally use.
polymarket.com is the international, crypto-based site. Its own footer says it isn’t regulated by the CFTC, and its help centre lists the US among the countries where trading is blocked. Accounts on the two platforms aren’t connected.
The 2022 settlement
In January 2022 the CFTC ordered Blockratize, the company behind polymarket.com, to pay a $1.4 million penalty and wind down markets that didn’t comply with US law. That’s why US users were shut out of the original site, and why Polymarket built a separate regulated exchange to come back.
State restrictions
Polymarket US doesn’t publish a list of restricted states. The Nevada Gaming Control Board says a state court has enjoined Polymarket there, and in September 2026 Missouri sent cease-and-desist letters to prediction market operators including Polymarket. See our guide to whether prediction markets are legal for the wider court fight.
Age
Polymarket US requires you to be at least 18 and of legal age in your state.